UK Offence Report

2 Any person who intentionally obstructs an authorised person (or a person assisting that authorised person…

regulation 19(2) of The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2004

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

2 Any person who intentionally obstructs an authorised person (or

a person assisting that authorised person in accordance with regulation 15) in the exercise of the powers conferred by regulation

14 shall be guilty of an offence.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (intentionally).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally.

What would breach regulation 19(2)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. On these words an offence is committed where a person intentionally obstructs an authorised person (or a person assisting that authorised person in accordance with regulation 15) in the exercise of the powers conferred by regulation 14.
  2. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
  3. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  4. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
25 February 2004
In force from
18 March 2004
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations, which replace the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2003 (“the 2003 Scheme”), make provision for the purposes of implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1257/1999 on support for rural development from the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 445/2002 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation No. 1257/1999. They apply to holdings in respect of which the Scottish Ministers are the competent authority under the Integrated Administration and Control System Regulations 1993 (regulation 1(2)). Applications for less favoured area support (“LFAS”) are to be made to the Scottish Ministers on a date which they shall determine each year. Failure to meet the deadline will result in reduction of the payment of support (regulation 3). Eligibility for payment of LFAS is dependent upon the applicant meeting the criteria set out in regulation 4. It can only be paid to an applicant who carries out an eligible agricultural activity (defined in regulation 2(1)) on eligible land (defined in regulation 6). No payment will be made where the amount of eligible land is less than 3 hectares (regulation 5). There is provision at regulation 7 to determine to whom payment should be made where a holding is transferred during a Scheme Year. LFAS is paid for eligible hectares on farms in Scottish less favoured areas at specified rates (regulations 8 and 12). The rate is fixed according to the grazing category (regulation 9 and Schedule 4) and the fragility of the parish in which the main farm of the applicant lies (regulation 12 and Schedule 7). The area of land on which LFAS is paid is normally the area of eligible land which the applicant has, adjusted in accordance with a formula set out in regulation 9(1). The manner in which the area of eligible land is adjusted will depend on the grazing category of that land (regulation 9(2)). The grazing category is allocated according to the historical stocking density of the applicant’s land (regulation 9(3)). A separate stocking density is calculated annually, and for the 2004 Scheme, is based upon eligible land and eligible agricultural activity in 2003. Where the applicant has a stocking density which falls above the maximum stocking density or below the minimum stocking density, then the area of land on which LFAS is to be paid is instead calculated in accordance with formulae set out in regulation 10. The maximum and minimum stocking densities are laid out in regulation 2. There is provision at regulation 10(4) to allow Scottish Ministers to determine the total number of livestock units where an applicant has not been able to achieve the minimum stocking density because of slaughter in consequence of foot and mouth disease. Where more than 10% of the applicant’s livestock units are made up of cattle, the area of land on which LFAS will be paid will be increased in accordance with the adjustment set out in regulation 11 and Schedule 5. Regulation 13 fixes a minimum payment of £350 Regulation 14 contains powers of enforcement. Regulation 16 provides for withholding or recovery of LFAS where there is a breach of the rules of the Scheme. Regulations 19 to 22 deal with offences and penalties. Regulations 23 to 25 deal with an applicant’s right of appeal against decisions taken by the Scottish Ministers. Regulation 26 makes consequential amendments to the Agricultural Subsidies (Appeals) (Scotland) Regulations 2000.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source